The Book Depository Asia's Cauldron by Robert D. Kaplan
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Price: £14.99
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: Asia's Cauldron : Paperback : Random House USA Inc : 9780812984804 : 0812984803 : 14 Jan 2015 : Originally published in hardcover: [ New York]: Random House, an imprint and division of Random House LLC, 2014. The Book Depository Asia's Cauldron by Robert D. Kaplan - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780812984804
MPN: 0812984803
GTIN: 9780812984804
Author: Late-Night Reader
Rating: 5
Review: Robert Kaplan could not have timed this book any better with China laying aggressive claims to oil exploration rights off the Vietnam coast. He gives a thorough analysis of each of the principal players at threat from China's long game in the South China Sea. Most impressive is how he uses a consistent analytical framework which is devoid of obvious emotion and bias. In particular he compares China's increasing dominance in the South China Sea to how the US seized control of the Caribbean from European powers in the 19th Century. This gives an air of inevitability to the shift of power now taking place and how US will be marginalized sooner or later. Whist he sees the risk of military confict flaring up, his thesis does not depend on it. Sheer military might in the region will likely be enough for China - when a big tatooed guy muscles down the street, he does not need violence, his visible presence can be enought to intimidate others. Kaplan also gives engaging profiles and insights into key leaders in Asia - Lee Kwan Yew, Mahathir and Deng - and the cast of fools which have run the Philippines. I found this the perfect lens through which to view developments in Asia. But more than that I found his approach to be very useful in viewing geopolitical developments elsewhere - such as Ukraine and the Middle East.
Author: B.J.Tideman
Rating: 4
Review: a very interesting book about the future of the South China Sea and the history and future of allthe countries around it.
